One climate activist’s political playbook: Boot Obama, support Huntsman

With cap-and-trade agreements dead in the water, no global treaty on carbon dioxide emissions and a general sense of apathy among many politicians toward climate change, Tim DeChristopher, a jailed climate activist, is understandably upset by the anemic political clout of the climate movement.

DeChristopher. (Wikimedia)

In a letter from prison DeChristopher calls for some “dirty” politics to get the movement back on track.

Among his suggestions:

A good first step toward gaining political power for the climate movement would be to primary a few fossil-fuel-friendly Democratic representatives.

This is fairly straightforward — put up primary opponents to Democratic incumbents who support Big Oil. The next couple of suggestions are a bit more unconventional.

The climate movement could also rock the boat by campaigning for Jon Huntsman right now. Aside from playing dirty, I genuinely believe that Jon Huntsman would make a better president than Obama. Very public support for Huntsman from the climate movement could create some interesting public discussion about how the Dems have failed to address the climate crisis. Campaigning for Huntsman might also scare Obama enough that he takes some steps over the next year to try to win us back.

I’m not sure Huntsman, who already is struggling with the right-of-center electorate that votes in the Republican primary, would welcome vocal support from liberal climate activists.

Anyway, here’s the most bold suggestion of all:

But come 2012, the climate movement will still face that arrogant taunt, “Whaddaya gonna do? Let a Republican win?” If this movement is ever going to get serious political power, the answer needs to be yes. This is where things get dirty. Like any abusive relationship, this movement will always be taken for granted if it’s not willing to turn its back on Obama. He needs to lose, and everyone needs to know it was us.

Obama, caught up in a bad recession, has not surprisingly abandoned climate policies that might gimp the U.S. economy. Although he has sought to create a NOAA Climate Service, his administration has not done that much to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

So while these ideas may strike some people as crazy, if you’re a climate activist, what other options are there in a tough economy where climate change is squarely on the back burner?